Time to take control

DancingUnicorn

Hi, just passing by and saying hello!
I started writing down everything I spend (some months I do better at this than others) about a year ago and have found that now I stop myself buying things purely because I can't be bothered to write it down! Also helps prove to myself I obviously didn't really need it.

Keep it up, you'll be debt free in no time!

Doom_and_Gloom

Nothing in the emergency fund? What if the washing machine, fridge, freezer or the like break down and need fixing or replacing?
You don't want to get into more debt if that happens. Make sure to budget for the just in case like that.

Midgetgem82

Will definitely be putting the £18 towards the next account now. Not sure this is the best way to get rid of them bit it's how I'm going to start.

I have no insurances, I know I should but have felt I've never been able to afford it. Not a very adult way of thinking, I know.

Today I spent £2.69 on a takeaway coffee and was really annoyed at myself afterwards.

I currently have no emergency fund and tend to buy things second hand if things break down. An emergency fund is another of the things I hope to rectify.

I'm feeling pretty inspired reading other diaries and am so pleased I've taken the step and admitted to myself how rubbish I am with money.

enthusiasticsaver

Is buying takeaway coffee a regular thing? If you do that even just 5 times a week that is more than £13 so £52 a month. Contents insurance can be got for about £6 a month depending on where you live. Something to think about.

An emergency fund is a must. Even second hand stuff costs unless you go to freecycle.

camz2017

Please get some contents insurance, you have a family. I live alone and hence do not have it, all I have valuable is a laptop and a TV - literally. If they go - I can live.

I've seen so many friends burgled without insurance with families, it's devastating. The latest one I know, they came in for Gold and emptied every cupboard, wardrobe etc to find the gold. They didn't stop there though, they poured bleach over everything - nike trainers, shoes, clothes, coats etc to cover fingerprints, so in the end almost everything was gone, even the guys socks!! The walls also needed a repaint.

Very best of luck with it all, you need to track every single thing that goes in and out of your bank - no excuses. I use YNAB, some love it, some hate it, I personally find it complicated and you almost need a degree to manage it lol - but once going it helps infinitely, I couldn't live without it. Find something that works for you even if it's a good old fashioned Excel sheet or spending diary on pen + paper. It's only now that I track everything I can tackle my debts.

I've tried all the various tools, another Good one is having a separate bank account where you almost top it up like pay as you go, only for spending (again you need to track your spending though as some transactions are made offline by retailers and do not show up for 7+ days), so you cannot take the bank balance as accurate.

Midgetgem82

Looking through bank statements show that I do indeed spend far too much on coffee so I plan to turn that figure to no more than £25 A month. I'd like it to eventually be a lot less but don't want to set myself up to fail.

Contents insurance is on my to do list today.
Anyone else wish this sort of stuff was taught at secondary school. Prevention is better than cure surely.

I've just sold some cycling shorts and t-shirt so that £25 has gone in to make a start in my emergency fund.

Midgetgem82

Also can you tell me what YNAB is please

camz2017

https://www.youneedabudget.com/

It’s an online tool where you can budget all of your money, it pays for itself.

My favourite feature is how I can drag a bank statement from my online banking right into YNAB and categorise all my spending. As I spend, I carry my smartphone, so say I go tesco and spend £3, I open the app and log it under groceries... if I forget to log, when I pull in my bank statement it’ll appear.

You can give it a whirl for the free trial and see if you like it.

A good old fashioned well controlled excel sheet can be great too!

DancingUnicorn

See what works for you in terms of a budget. I hated YNAB and could not get along with it - I hear of many others who absolutely swear by it.
For tracking my spending I use good old pen and paper. I also colour code everything I've bought as to whether it was something I did need, an OK spend (treating myself to a hot chocolate after a particularly hard week or a meal out with friends because I don't do it often), or a bad spend. I try to keep my bad spends right down!
For tracking my budget I use a spreadsheet but this only has my bills on it and I "tick" them off as they get paid.

enthusiasticsaver

Did you check out the interest rates you are paying? Someone else on their soa said they were paying 39% on their very card.